Speculations continue in the aftermath of the killing of Attorney, Journalist and Law Lecturer Ms Dana Seetahal as a stunned nation continues to reel from the shock of her death.
Police reports now show that the weapon, which would have used the caliber of ammunition shells found on the scene, is used mostly by military personnel.
CCTV camera footage is being scoured at this time but it is being reported that the Wingroad vehicle used in the killing may have been fortified with bags of cement to prevent it from moving should she have attempted to ram the vehicle after it blocked her access.
After an emergency meeting held by the National Security Council, the nation has been elevated to an amber alert. The Prime Minister has offered a reward of 2.5 million dollars to anyone who can offer information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the persons responsible. This is in addition to CrimeStoppers’ $1 million reward.
Police are already following leads and it is reported that one of the suspects in her killing is on the run after being tipped off by a police officer that he is wanted for questioning.
Tributes and condolences continue to pour in as funeral arrangements are being made for Ms Dana Seetahal.
Somebody knows these killers and $2.5 million should convince them to talk.
Are you kidding, it could be $2.5 billion, ain’t nobody is going to live to collect that money. Trinidad’s police are a joke, they could not locate the sun in the sky, on a clear bright day, at noon. It’s the same stupid strategy they have for winning elections, flash money.
I agree that this is a time of mourning when all good citizens should say a prayer for the departed soul of such an outstanding attorney and patriot. It is also time to ponder on how her murder is to be avenged. We talk about the ‘police’ ( who by right we should depend upon to solve this case) but there are sobering questions we should ask in order for us to be realistic and not allow ourselves to be lulled into false expectations. Primary question like, can our police solve this crime? Are they equipped with the necessary resources and training in which to analyze and perform forensic tests to lead them closer to the killer or killers? What kind of expertise is necessary to bring these killers to justice?. Are the people being put on this case the right choices? These and many myriad of questions are needed to be answered to solve this case. Since the police service has become politically entwined with the way it is managed, can we justifiably ask the question, had it not been for the interference by the political directorate, could it be that we have we lost the best problem solvers in the police service when the government introduced Politics sets the climate and mood by which the population operate and takes a cue from, it is those who govern that make the decision who to keep, who to let go and who to hire and fire to run our services. So, Government MUST take some responsibility to what occurs in our streets, churches, court houses, public places and yes, our homes. On taking the mantle of leadership in the police service, this government in 2010 decided, on the advice of one Mr. Persad, that twenty experienced members of the police service holding various ranks from officers to non commissioned officers should be let go, not because they were unfit but only because they were suspected of being members of the PNM or sympathetic to the PNM. They all had great police experiences and millions of dollars were spent on their training, but this administration decided it was in their best interest to have policemen who sympathizes with them and not the PNM who should stay in the police service. Is this wise or foolish? I’m sure most most citizens do not care about a policeman’s political affiliation if he does a good job. But this administration cares. Could it just be that because of this administration’s political interference it dashed our hope of solving the quagmire of police leadership? Our protective services MUST be free from political and party identifications and qualifications if we are to have independant and objective leadership. We need brilliant servicemen NOT UNC servicemen or PNM servicemen when we free our service men from political labels then we can say we are on our way to good governance, I do not want our services to have political labels, if it remains so then we are doomed!
Susan Francois is her sister. FIU
this is why our country will always be in a state of corrupution the police and army coast guard prision officers you name it we got it not to protect but to run crime acitivies to benefit where are all the camera’s in prison on the street if cameras are so essential why they are not put everywhere how come only weed is found and not coke no one can touch the bigfish thet safe where is the coast guard when all the drugs comes in are we sleeping as a nation no! who on top stay on top we are the bottom feeders so we have no say people of Trinidad and Tobago do not know the power of their voting finger we have the power to say who stays and who goes
Ms.Mohammed: I am an advocate “that the people are the Government”….Your input and ideas are valuable.
Yeah John Thomas, “FIU,”and her claim to fame was ,that she once lectured Rowley Law School daughter, signed a few government checks, was elevated over more senior officials, by her adoring PM.
Talk about more square pegs in round holds! I agree with your not too subtle swipe ,for she , as expected ,is too busy, ensuring that Basdeo , and his UNC high flying pals , Ish ,and Steve ,don’t ever see jail time ,for their obvious White color banditry, committed against her country.
In the mean time ,confidence in Workers Bank, and the Stock Exchange, is crumbling-and we know why.
I for one , and a vast array of fellow citizens , I am certain,would prefer to leave their savings in any Port au Prince, or war torn Afghanistan local banks, and better yet, invest in the Jupiter, Stock Exchange , than foolishly place a penny in this country, and don’t give a hoot , if this so call expert , was a Director of the American FBI, US State Department, or Scotland Yard, which she obviously ain’t . By the way did her credentials check out?
Massa England , must be having a good laugh, to see what these great grand pickenees, of ex slaves , and indentured subjects , have evolved into. Cats and Dogs , fighting for economic spoils, all the while, as ‘Rome burns .’
On another note ,poor Venezuela, still reeling from economic turmoil , due to anti Chavez ,Yankee hegemonic jig and dances, but yet, they can orchestrate, a real full scale security operation , to harness in our closet terrorist criminals.
Translation, we continue to placate terrorist, and our security conscious Latin neighbor , says- Nunca aquí, si?
http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/mobile/news/Trinis-held-in-Venezuelan–coup–plot
As for us Trini tribalist , we are still busy,trying to outdo each other, while spiraling further down the insecure gutter.
May god bless her family and let the lord find the corruption that exists here. This is a travesty and there is no reason this shouldn’t be solved already.
Christian
I would not be the one to question this assassination. No human being created by the Almighty should go out like this. But as a technical person I see beyond this as Dana Seetahal is no greater or lesser a human being than the more than 150 persons murdered for 2014 alone…not to leave out the thousands that were murdered in the last 10 years in our beloved country. My guts feel the pains of the root cause of our crime problems that continues to exist in T&T. I refer to those still with the false papers in places of authority that do not seem to know about running our country or even bring justice to our people. When you point fingers they are quick to run into the court for they know it is a money game there. They will always dip their dirty hands in our treasury to fight us in court. 1990 still continues to haunt us. This is just another reminder that the nasty stench of the problem still exists. I still remember a former PM who said he knows who Mr Big was. We are reaping what we sowed and still sowing. God doh sleep. Mr Noah will come back again. The players will meet their sorry end. The good Lord has shown me throughout my existence that he is not connected with any evil. Evil is all man’s doing and he has to learn that evil will not sell. So we must feel the pain of our wrong doing until we learn to obey God. Our crime problem does not need a rocket science solution. We simply need to look inside of us…first for the root cause(s) and God will provide the dots for us to connect. We need to stop fooling ourselves.
Many,many eons ago someone said “a man who hits a woman is a coward”….The man/men who commited this heinous crime against an unarmed,mild mannered,intellectual woman is/are…………fill in the blanks with your description of “Homo Erectus”…An immigrant from Borneo was chided that “savages” also experienced indigestion.
Someone/some group must devise a plan to infiltrate gangs;and destroy them from within.This is a very dangerous assignment.A meagre five hundred years ago the general consensus was that “the world was flat”.Then,someone discarded that theory;and ventured into the “unknown” the results are self explanatory.
Scotland Yard,The FBI,The CIA are guaranteed to answer the appeals of the T&T Government to combat “contract killings”..It’s pointless to speculate ad infinitum.An “action plan” is required to remove the “Mr.Bigs” and their affiliates from the inhabitants of society permantently.Bon chance!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Bm11vZDG8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
“Look de devil dey!.. Devil in business, in Halls of Justice , in pot gut old men , who seduce little children!”
Hey Swordfish, sing with me my brother, as once again, it seems obvious , that those ‘selectively outraged collective,’ among us ,have embraced the easy, escapist, fake solutions, and here it is :-Most have conveniently choose to jump on their almighty , condescending thrones, to condemn Phantom enemies, some naively think, are the only ones, pulling our underachieving ,once envied T&T, down the social gutter, of ‘Fail statehood, economic stagnation,or inequitable justice,’when in reality, it’s because of the fact that political ineptitude,blatant corruption,and cronyism, has become the new order , by self serving elites , suddenly drunken with tenuous socio -political power.
Time to foster a new patriotic spirit T&T,but while at it , we should diligently seek to halt the influences of ‘cross tribal elites,’ and most importantly,learn ‘respect for the other.’
There is work to be done people , so let’s not get continually caught up in lose / lose , defeatist mantras,and failed ,12th century, neo feudal ideas , promoted by clueless, self loathing bozos, that are destined to take us nowhere,as a nation, si?
Love humanity, and forget the tribe !
“New order”? It has ALWAYS been this way, they just gave it a shot steroids is all…
Hello Neal:I will sing,pray,and do whatever is necessary with you to achieve “peace and stability” in my much beloved country.”The pen is mightier than the sword”…Since,you reside in T&T I rely on your knowledge of “current affairs” along with Raffique Shah;which enables me to “add my two cents”
To reiterate:have you seriously considered the acquisition of “public office”? C’mon bro'”everything worthwhile deserves a try”
The term “tribalism” troubles me considerably.Contemplate the ridiculous.(God perish the thought;this must never occur)..T&T is at war with one of its neighbours.Military action commences.Do you honestly believe that the “enemy” will try to decipher;who are “Indo,Afro,Caucasian,mixed race trini” before they “open fire”?
In ordinary places and in ordinary times your views would be welcomed to the ears of every citizen in this here land. Are gangs out of step with the ordinary citizen? – yes they are. Are they a burden on society? – yes again they are.
Is their make up that of the better part of the society? Hell No. Do they contribute to the making of a better society? – NOT in your wildest dreams! Then why are they amongst us and creating havoc and fear in the minds of the individual? Because they have come to be an integral part of what might pass for ‘business’ in our beloved country. Yes – the criminals/gangs/badjohns (call them by whatever name) perform a service that is lucrative, dangerous and profitable. They are without virtue, class, ethic or morality but they are in business because there are those with cash in their pockets who need them to do their dirty work for them, which often involves killing. We may choose to ignore or deny that this is what is happening in our midst but check your cases as we know, hear and read in the media and what we find is a question mark behind everyone. It is evident that we always want to know who! but ‘why’ is always harder to answer than who! Listening to 95.5 a couple days ago and the question was asked, ‘Do you support the adding of $2.5m by the PM to the reward for the killing of Ms Seetahal? Of the first 19 respondents, only 1 answered in the affirmative. Why? why? why? why?. Yet, when asked about their feelings about the assassination 100% were sympathetic or very sympathetic towards her. Does this say that people no longer care to bring criminals to justice? No, not at all. What appears to be peoples’s feelings is that money has replaced commonsense, justice, ethics, morality, pride and spirituality in our lives and what we are experiencing is the validation of this new concept by those with the power to exercise it. Those with the power to inject words of consolation and upliftment now do so with a check from the treasury. When words of comfort are the best medicine we get cash instead, when sympathy is the medicine to ease our aching hearts – money is spurned and scattered before our eyes. Somewhere between 2010 and now our souls have been emptied of all spirituality and the devil has taken over our daily lives because what we crave in every instance is MONEY, and who is best to offer it? THE DEVIL!
Dana’s killer targets Cops
By NALINEE SEELAL
May 08 2014 – newsday.co.tt
SENIOR Counsel and State Prosecutor Dana Seetahal’s suspected assassin has been fingered in a plot to kill a number of senior police officers and quick work by national security agents led to the detention of three men on Tuesday, who were said to be on their way to carry out a ‘hit’.
Well-placed intelligence sources yesterday revealed that they have in their possession info that Seetahal’s suspected assassin received instructions from within prison walls to eliminate head of Central Division Snr Supt Johnny Abraham, Inspector Terrence Williams, Inspector Linus Benjamin, Sgt Jitindra Toolaram and Constable Justin Abraham, son of Snr Supt Abraham.
Newsday understands information was gathered by an intelligence agency whose officers then passed on the information to Snr Supt Abraham and the four other officers. They were advised to take necessary precautions.
However, on Tuesday at about 4 pm, three men in a vehicle who are believed to be known associates of the suspected Seetahal assassin, were in the Caparo area seeking directions to Snr Superintendent Abraham’s home. One of those asked, later contacted Snr Supt Abraham, to inform him that men in a vehicle were asking for his address.
Abraham despatched officers from his Task Force to the area and the three men whose ages are 25, 26, and 27 were nabbed and taken to the Chaguanas Police Station where they remain detained.
Newsday understands with the detention of the three men some stringent security arrangements have been put in place in the Central Division. Contacted yesterday Snr Supt Abraham confirmed he was tipped off about a plot to kill him and other officers, but said, “the officers in Central are on higher than usual alert based on the information received that a hit has been put on me and some of my officers,
“But they must remember we are ready and waiting on them for any eventuality. As a matter of fact the entire Central Division team of officers have their eyes and ears to the ground and they are giving full support to officers whose lives are under threat and those threats will not send any shivers down our spines.
“We will continue to do whatever we have been doing,” Abraham said, adding that if anyone comes to Central to commit any crime they must be prepared to face the full consequences of their action.
Newsday also understands that a prisoner who has been issuing orders to carry out various executions continues to be under surveillance. However, investigators have decided to hold their hands in taking him into custody, just yet. Sources also revealed yesterday that Seetahal’s assassin has not left the country and is hiding out at a particular location in Laventille. Officers said an arrest should be made within the next 48 hours and are confident of making a major breakthrough into the assassination of Seetahal.
Sources added that a man in charge of a gang in East Trinidad recently moved to Laventille after another known gang leader was jailed under the anti-gang legislation. The East Trinidad gang leader is now controlling gangs in Laventille and Beetham and is believed to be the mastermind in the murder of Sentinel security guard Bert Clarke, 59, on Wednesday November 27, when millions of dollars belonging to various banks were stolen by the killer.
I grow up in never dirty morvant murder and crime has always been part of our life (residence of morvant/laventile) it seem like only when some one of high position dies of brutal circumstances (god rest her soul)that we see the state our nation are in I think if we as a nation invest the same resources that we are investing now to every murder that took place in T&T,Trinidad and Tobago would be a safer place a life is a life don’t matter who u are u want crime to stop in Trinidad treat every life the same they are treating Dana’s own because if u have not recognise ppl are dying in trinidad everyday sometimes 3per day never seen 2.5 million reward for any one with information for all these pass murders or it’s because they are from laventile or are suspected gang members there life is worth less if this is way we think as a society then we have already lost to the bad influence that is slowly taking over our beloved country I live in london I have been here for the pass 8 years and murder is murder here some high profile murder case will have more media coverage than some but trust the same vigilance and good police work are used in every murder case
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jul/25/july7.uksecurity5
We hear you Bro Ron ni, but some might say be careful ,with that over the top, high praise for your more civilize British Police , as the data , does not necessarily reflect, as rosy ,a picture, as you are stating.In addition to regular crimes ,Britain , like the rest of Europe , and sadly, North America as a whole ,including Canada, is grappling with an ugly scrooge , and it’s called Domestic terrorism.
In it,kids , chiefly of color,with immigrant parents, are empathizing with folks from their respective homelands , and so , are engaging in activities, that would put them under scrutiny , by the numerically dominant majority.
Translation- it ain’t much fun , to be brown , Black ,and poor, in the quarters mentioned. Pakistani, North African,Indian ,Bangladesh, Sri Lankans, Nigerians ,Somalian, Turkish, and as w e can now see ,Brazilian? Muy problema.
http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/forgotten-record-murder-rate-cases-unsolved-article-1.1566572
Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in good old USA ,for over 2 decades, and understand better, the prevailing realities , as far as unequal playing field justice, when it comes to folks of color -especially Africans.Ummm Racial profiling , anyone?
I sometimes get a chuckle , when I hear my naive , fellow country folks , disparage, local law officials , and clamor for White elements ,to solve everything, from a stolen ,baby diaper , to breach of traffic signal.
The last I checked , I think it was ,500 American DEA agents , and I am certain ,1000 FBI blokes ,came on request,to investigate the SM Jaleel ,$6 million dollar ,drug bust, but trust me Bro Ron ni, when I say, your great grand children , which ain’t born yet ,will make kids, or Caroni pigs would be seen flying over Never Dirty Morvant first, before this case is solved , and you know why, ennnt?
Sadly Ron ni, in T&T, the ugly boogeyman called race ,is often trotted out, for our consumption, by self serving elites ,but most Trinis , don’t really take that too seriously.
How about 28% and rising , mix race population , thank you very much , slam bam ,nuff said , case shut, hmmm?
What we have here is a class problem. As such ,low end Africans, in Never dirty Morvant , Lavantille, Caranege , Roxborough,and Belmont Gonzales , will be treated with the same contempt by the powers that be, as those equally poor ,struggling Indo Trinis, in Caroni, Penal , Aranguez, St Helena , Los Bajos ,or Carapachima, si?
Perhaps not 2 millon ,but maybe 1.95 million , would have been offered, if say , Arima top female lawyer,turn PNM MP/ Senator, Penelope Beckles , was brutally murdered,in similar fashion to Auntie Dana Sethahal, or worst yet, nationally popular ,Soca brad,Marshall Montano.
It’s just how the cookie crumnles.
Just try and find a way to help keep our flag flying ,and when possible , see what you can do ,to make a difference , mi Pizzano.
England is over 1000 plus years ,and don’t even have a written constitution, yet an MP would resign , at the drop of a hat , if any charges of improprieties, are leveled at them.Your T&T, in contrast,is barely 52 years, and not even a backhoe , much less a court tribunal , can get a nutty, cagey.. AG…. well…you get the point.
Give us time we will get there.
Luv Humanity People!
The problem just like the rest of the world including The United States is that there isn’t enough jobs and a sense of purpose for men in society. Men with purpose and pride, and an investment into their community do not behave this way. I don’t know for a fact that she wasn’t murdered by women, but I’m willing to bet that disenfranchised menare responsible.